Pittsburgh's special teams steady throughout playoff run

Any coach would agree - when you get a power-play chance in the playoffs you want to make the most of it.  A goal with the man advantage could easily stand as the deciding factor between a win or a loss, especially if the refs are "putting away their whistles" later in the game.

So far in the Carolina series, Pittsburgh is 3-for-11 with the man advantage, roughly a 27% conversion rate.  Carolina's execution with the man advantage is slightly better, going 3-for-9 with a near 33% conversion.

Pittsburgh and Carolina rank third and fourth among active teams, respectively, in PP chances.  

Here's a closer look at Pittsburgh's overall playoff numbers up through Game 3:

Although the power play is an obvious factor throughout the Cup run, giving up a goal when down a man is something no team wants to allow.  Of the four active teams, only Carolina has a better PK than Pittsburgh. 

Perhaps there is more to factor into PK situations, such as team discipline and home ice.  Either way, Pitt's ability to kill penalties whether at home or on the road is practically identical.

Obviously a solid performance on either side of special teams is huge during the regular season but it couldn't be more crucial than in the playoffs.  Should Detroit and Pitt wrap up their respective series this week, we'll take a look at how the two teams match up in special teams as well sometime later in the week.